McLeod Residence Blog

Giant Squid Opens December 7!

Giant Squid
Cassandra Nguyen

Opening Reception: December 7, 6-9pm

With poetry, live drawings and other activities by the Cephalopod Appreciation Society; squid snacks; and inky cocktails.

The mysterious and elusive giant squid resides in the deepest water of the ocean and is usually not seen by humans, but a few will make a rare appearance at McLeod Residence this December thanks to New York artist Cassandra Nguyen. Giant Squid will open with a reception on December 7, 2007, from 6-9 pm, and runs through December 29.

Cassandra's squid are actually stuffed animals, created in a variety of fabrics including ultrasuede, velvet, brocade, felt and toile. The three at McLeod Residence will each be about 20 feet long, the size of an adolescent giant squid. Cassandra became interested in giant squid after seeing a documentary on the cephalopods. The idea of being the largest creature on earth and yet never seen fascinated her. When she couldn't find anyone selling a stuffed squid, she decided to make her own and eventually refined a pattern that includes a secret pocket. Eventually she plans to make one that is 60 feet long, the size of a full grown giant squid.

Her squid are available for adoption at McLeod Residence during the month and a portion of the proceeds from each adoption goes to charity. Cassandra was recently featured in Giant Robot magazine and is also showing her squid at the Royal/T gallery and cafe in Los Angeles.

Members of Seattle's Cephalopod Appreciation Society will be on hand at the opening party to help disseminate facts and enthusiasm about the elusive giant squid, and will facilitate live drawing, squid poetry, and other activities to help creatively further our understanding.

Squid-inspired poets and performers will include:
A.K. Allin
Anne Bradfield / Elizabeth Bradfield
Levi Fuller
Rachael Harper
Rebecca Hoogs
Rachel Kessler
Travis Nichols
Melanie Noel
Avery Slater
Deborah Woodard
and more!

Going on its 6th year, the Cephalopod Appreciation Society has been meeting annually at the NW Film Forum to learn about and celebrate all things cephalopod. (Cephalopods = Squid, Octopus, Cuttlefish, Chambered Nautilus.) Past annual spring gatherings have included film, poetry, song, art, musical slideshows, dance, stickers, scientific lectures and impassioned speeches. This September, the Cephalopod Appreciation Society was invited by the Burke Natural History Museum to curate a cephalopod-inspired poetry reading for the grand opening of its new In Search of Giant Squid.

Also showing this month is Glimpses from China, a series of photographs by Sami Khoury. Sami lived and worked in China for six months this year and documented his journey in these vivid images from a country undergoing a rapid transformation.

The South Room features a "best of" exhibit of the year's light box images. The Lounge features McLeod Residence's ongoing installation of neon work by Jeremy Bert and Jen Elek and furniture by Gary Andolina. The Water Closets will continue to house the Barbarian Group's McLeod Mirror Series 1: See Yourself In Others. Maggie Orth's Petal Pushers and the Barbarian Group's Biomimetic Butterflies will continue to be shown in the McLeod Room and, at accessible price points, make excellent holiday gifts for beginning art collectors.

Maggie Orth wins USA Fellowship

Today, United States Artists announced 50 new USA Fellows and we are extremely happy that McLeod Residence artist Maggie Orth is among the artists who will receive an unrestricted $50,000 grant in recognition of their work. Considered a pioneer in the emerging field of electronic textiles, interactive fashions, wearable computing and interface design, Maggie Orth has published and exhibited in a range of venues worldwide, and McLeod Residence is proud to represent her in Seattle.

Maggie'™s electronic fabrics have been exhibited several times at McLeod Residence, and currently her Petal Pusher lightboxes are hung in the McLeod Room.

United States Artists is a new organization that exists to support, nurture and strengthen the work of America'™s finest living artists. The first three years of the USA Fellows program will be considered a pilot phase. During that time, USA will distribute 150 unrestricted fellowship grants of $50,000 each to artists across the United States. To learn more, visit unitedstatesartists.org.

Petal Pushers are priced accessibly and would make a lovely entry point for anyone looking to begin an art collection. I also think they would make a wonderful Christmas gift for anyone interested in design, technology, textiles or art. Come on by and check them out! You've got to interact with them in person to see just how cool they are.

Congratulations, Maggie!

Press Release: Big, Beautiful and a Little Scary at McLeod Residence

What do squids and China have in common? They are both big, beautiful, and maybe a little scary. What is the plural of squid? You may use either squid or squids. What's this got to do with McLeod Residence? Well, keep reading to find out about our awesome December exhibits.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Maggie Santolla McLeod, Press Relations
maggie.santolla@gmail.com

Lele McLeod, Gallery
leleblixa@gmail.com
206-441-3314

Big, Beautiful and a Little Scary
New exhibits bring a distant creature and country to McLeod Residence

Seattle, WA,--November 8, 2007-- The mysterious and elusive giant squid resides in the deepest water of the ocean and is usually not seen by humans, but a few will make a rare appearance at McLeod Residence this December thanks to New York artist Cassandra Nguyen. Giant Squid will open with a reception on December 7, 2007, from 6-9 pm, and runs through December 29.

Cassandra's squid are actually stuffed animals, created in a variety of fabrics including ultrasuede, velvet, brocade, felt and toile. The three at McLeod Residence will each be about 20 feet long, the size of an adolescent giant squid. Cassandra became interested in giant squid after seeing a documentary on the cephalopods. The idea of being the largest creature on earth and yet never seen fascinated her. When she couldn't find anyone selling a stuffed squid, she decided to make her own and eventually refined a pattern that includes a secret pocket. Eventually she plans to make one that is 60 feet long, the size of a full grown giant squid.

Her squid are available for adoption at McLeod Residence during the month and a portion of the proceeds from each adoption goes to charity. Cassandra was recently featured in Giant Robot magazine and is also showing her squid at the Royal/T gallery and cafe in Los Angeles during November.

McLeod Residence's Giant Squid coincides with the Burke Museum's exhibit, In Search of Giant Squid, which is on view until December 31.

Also showing this month is Glimpses from China, a series of photographs by Sami Khoury. Sami lived and worked in China for six months this year and documented his journey in these vivid images from a country undergoing a rapid transformation.

Sami Khoury has been practicing the visual arts since 1994 when he worked with the Berkeley Contemporary Opera as a digital artist on its production of William Gibson's seminal cyberpunk novel Neuromancer and formally studied photography while completing his degree in computer science at the University of California at Berkeley at the end of 1997. His work has appeared in The Stranger, Seattle Weekly, Minty Magazine, Aphid Magazine, America Online City Guides, online magazines around the world, and in promotional materials for art galleries, restaurants, and bars all around Seattle, Washington.

The Lounge features McLeod Residence's ongoing installation of neon work by Jeremy Bert and Jen Elek and furniture by Gary Andolina. The Water Closets will continue to house the Barbarian Group's McLeod Mirror Series 1: See Yourself In Others. Maggie Orth's Petal Pushers and the Barbarian Group's Biomimetic Butterflies will continue to be shown in the McLeod Room and, at accessible price points, make excellent holiday gifts for beginning art collectors.

* * *
McLeod Residence, located at 2209 Second Avenue in Seattle, Washington, is a home for extraordinary living through art, technology and collaboration. Proprietors Buster McLeod and Lele McLeod founded McLeod Residence in 2006. McLeod Residence is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm. For more information, contact McLeod Residence at 206-441-3314 or visit www.mcleodresidence.com.

New exhibit at McLeod Residence opening this Friday!

We have a new exhibit coming to McLeod Residence this week!

Fixed Value

Member Preview: Thursday, November 1st, 6pm-12am
Opening Reception: Friday, November 2nd, 6pm-9pm

Read the press release…

New York artist Kharis Kennedy explores the subjective versus the objective with her series of paintings Fixed Value at McLeod Residence. The series addresses the use of subjective terminology to critique artwork and opposes the notion of "artistic value," instead offering empirical value and measurement for each work of art. Fixed Value opens with a reception on Friday, November 2, 2007 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and runs through November 24.

Also showing: Glimpses of China by Sami Khoury, and a continuation of The More You Know with Jeff Bender and Jason Huntley.

McLeod Residence, located at 2209 Second Avenue in Seattle, Washington, is a home for extraordinary living through art, technology and collaboration. Proprietors Buster McLeod and Lele McLeod founded McLeod Residence in 2006. McLeod Residence is open to the public Tuesday-Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm, and Thursday-Saturday from 6pm to midnight for member happy hour events. For more information, contact McLeod Residence at 206-441-3314 or visit www.mcleodresidence.com.

Sincerely,

The McLeods

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PS. Learn more about memberships at McLeod Residence. We have weekly happy hours, lots of unique perks, and feel like it's a great way to meet and engage the people of our city. Our member lounge is open up to members and invited guests Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, so get your membership now if you don't already have one.

Press Release: Fixed Values

Hi,

We issued a press release today for our November exhibit, Fixed Value, a series of paintings with a fascinating concept. Read on for more info!

Maggie

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Maggie Santolla McLeod, Press Relations
maggie.santolla@gmail.com

Lele McLeod, Gallery
leleblixa@gmail.com
206-441-3314

Kharis Kennedy's Fixed Value Explores Objectivity in Art at McLeod Residence

Seattle, WA—October 11,2007—New York artist Kharis Kennedy explores the subjective versus the objective with her series of paintings Fixed Value at McLeod Residence during the month of November. Fixed Value opens with a reception on Friday, November 2, 2007 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and runs through November 24.

Fixed Value represents two years of work exploring the fact that a painting is a physical object that, like any other three-dimensional object, can only be objectively understood in terms of its physical properties: light, mass and energy. The series consists of 27 paintings divided into three groups. Each painting uses the same subject matter, a stuffed dog and a flower arrangement, and are all the same size ( 17.25" x 23.25"). The three groups each explore one of the key attributes that describes a physical object: light, mass or energy. Kennedy devised a method to construct the nine paintings in each group that varies only the value of the attribute being studied, while keeping all attributes of the painting constant.

Says Kennedy about the series, "I want to find out what it would feel like to encounter a room filled with the same still life, painted over and over again, varying each time only in order to fulfill different objective criteria."

The series addresses the use of subjective terminology to critique artwork and opposes the notion of "artistic value," instead offering empirical value and measurement for each work of art.

Kharis Kennedy has been working as a studio artist since 1999 and currently lives and works in New York City. She earned her BFA in Painting and Drawing and a BA in Art History at the University of Washington. Though her background is primarily in painting, much of her recent work is conceptual multi-media pieces. Most recently she and long time collaborator Rick McIntire premiered two evening length presentations of Yamabushi + Spielerfrau, a multi-disciplinary performance inspired by the possibilities of the random juxtaposition of their silent film Yamabushi with live music performed by the band Spielerfrau. In the fall of 2007 Kennedy, McIntire, costume designer / sculptor Agata Olek Oleksiak, and dance choreographer Bryon Carr will present "Dr. M. Vs. Capt. R.," a collaborative piece incorporating dance, projected images, recorded music and sculptural costuming.

Kennedy's work has been included in juried exhibitions in New York City and she was recently awarded a 2007-2008 A.I.R. Gallery Fellowship. Fixed Value will be exhibited at A.I.R. Gallery in Manhattan following the McLeod Residence show.

The foyer will also feature photographs by Sami Khoury and the conservatory will host a preview of Cassandra's Nguyen's December exhibit of stuffed giant squid. A separate press release will be issued with details about these exhibits.

The Lounge features McLeod Residence's ongoing installation of neon work by Jeremy Bert and Jen Elek and furniture by Gary Andolina. The Water Closets will continue to house the Barbarian Group's McLeod Mirror Series 1: See Yourself In Others.

* * *
McLeod Residence, located at 2209 Second Avenue in Seattle, Washington, is a home for extraordinary living through art, technology and collaboration. Proprietors Buster McLeod and Lele McLeod founded McLeod Residence in 2006. McLeod Residence is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm. For more information, contact McLeod Residence at 206-441-3314 or visit www.mcleodresidence.com.

The More You Know: Opening September 14!

The More You Know

Member Preview: Thursday, September 13, 6pm-12am
Opening Reception: Friday, September 14, 6pm-9pm

Read the press release…

The More You Know takes us back to our teenage years, when sugar-laden cereal was palatable, encyclopedias had yet to be usurped by Google, our favorite bands were our whole identity and celebrity PSAs really meant something. Featuring work by Jeff Bender, Jason Huntley and Jeffery Sarmiento, The More You Know opens with a reception on Friday, September 14, from 6-9 pm. The exhibits will be on display until November 3.

Jeffrey Sarmiento, Encyclopædia V.1-8 (detail)
2007, enameled and cast glass, 96 x 16 x 8 in.
A full-color catalog for Encyclopædia will be available.

Press Release: Back to School with McLeod Residence

Hi everyone!
We issued a press release today. This will be a fun show. Read on for more info!

Maggie

Paris Hilton by Jeff Bender

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Maggie Santolla McLeod, Press Relations
maggie.santolla@gmail.com

Lele McLeod, Gallery
leleblixa@gmail.com
206-441-3314

McLeod Residence Goes Back to School
Books, Breakfast Cereal and Rock and Roll Make Up The More You Know

Seattle, WA--August 23, 2007--The More You Know, the latest exhibit at Belltown’s McLeod Residence, takes us back to a time when sugar-laden cereal was palatable, encyclopedias had yet to be usurped by Google, our favorite bands were our whole identity and celebrity PSAs really meant something. Featuring work by Jeff Bender, Jason Huntley and Jeffrey Sarmiento, The More You Know opens with a reception on Friday, September 14, from 6-9pm. The exhibits will be on display until November 3.

A nod to fall and back-to-school times, The More You Know features icons of our teenage years with a twist--historical texts and images encased in a thick layer of glass, fallen celebrities portrayed in breakfast cereal, and photographs of popular musicians in unexpected contexts.

The South Room will feature seven celebrity portraits by Jeff Bender, mounted on the McLeod Residence lightboxes. Jeff has been a professional photographer for 17 years and has lived in L.A. since 1990. He began his career with the intention of being a fashion photographer but a passion for music and live shows led him to the music industry, which he discovered was a perfect fit. Many of his photos show an intimate side to the celebrities we are so used to viewing in posed perfection---a reflective moment during the shooting of Paris Hilton’s music video, or No Doubt goofing off with silly balloons. Jeff's photographs will also hang in the foyer.

Jason Huntley’s Breakfast in Neverland, a portrait of Michael Jackson created entirely with breakfast cereal glued to a foam-core base, will hang in the McLeod Room. Jason studied at the Art Institute of Seattle and Austin Community College in Austin, Texas. He works with a variety of materials and is interested in exploring the marriage of subject matter to medium.  The idea to create a portrait made of children’s cereal sat in his head for over a decade before he came upon the perfect subject---Michael Jackson’s mug shot. The Stranger put Breakfast in Neverland on the cover the week of his trial, February 17th, 2005, but the piece gains new depth when one views each carefully-placed marshmallow and cereal bits in person.

Jeffrey Sarmiento’s Encyclopædia will be displayed in the Conservatory and the Parlor. Currently a Research Councils UK Academic Fellow in Glass at the University of Sunderland in Sunderland, England, Jeffrey has also been an instructor and studio coordinator at Pilchuck Glass School. His series is composed of photographic images of heritage, family history and his Filipino identity trapped inside of layers of fused glass.  He intentionally seeks to create his work far from home in order to create his dreamy pieces in new contexts. Jeffrey's work conveys the poignancy of life in a real, thought-provoking way and his innovative techniques create a surprisingly powerful nostalgic effect through. A catalog for Encyclopædia is available. Encyclopædia will close October 27.

The Lounge features McLeod Residence’s ongoing installation of neon work by Jeremy Bert and Jen Elek and furniture by Gary Andolina and James Reinhardt. The Water Closets will continue to house the Barbarian Group’s McLeod Mirror Series 1: See Yourself In Others.

* * *
McLeod Residence, located at 2209 Second Avenue in Seattle, Washington, is a home for extraordinary living through art, technology and collaboration. Proprietors Buster McLeod and Lele McLeod founded McLeod Residence in 2006. McLeod Residence is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm. For more information, contact McLeod Residence at 206-441-3314 or visit www.mcleodresidence.com

Jen Elek and Jeremy Bert

Jen Elek and Jeremy Bert are two of our amazing local artists whose home, with its neon wall pieces and flocked black and white wallpaper, was a huge inspiration for the McLeod Residence space.  If you're like me, you've truly appreciated and enjoyed being surrounded by their work in our lounge.  They're available for special neon and light commissions, too.  Imagine having something similar to Ransom Note in your home or office, but with a phrase or word of your choosing!  Just a thought...

Jen and Jeremy have spent the last six months working double time on their new line of ceramic ware.  Its web site has just been launched, so I would love for you to take a peek: http://www.jbjeartists.com/.  Remember, if you love the work that we show, please support the artists!  What would life be like without them?

Our current exhibition, Interactivity, has been extended and will now close on September 8.  Please come by if you haven't yet seen it, or give a tour to friends if you have.  As always, the gallery is open Tues-Sat from 10-6, and the lounge is open to members and their guests Thurs-Sat 6-midnight.  If you're not a member, please email us for an invitation.  Hope to see you soon!

This Week at McLeod Residence

Please join us for this week's events:

Open to the public:
Tonight: Speed Geek, 6:30pm-8:30pm
Net Tuesday is where social change and technology meet for drinks!

For members and guests (and those who ask for an invitation):
Weds: Short Film Night, 7pm-9pm
Thursday: Queen Clam McLeod's Special Announcement Celebration + GuerrillaWarHair - Haircuts by Sean Lowry, 6pm-midnight
Friday: Birthday Celebration for Seattle Metroblogging's Josh! 6pm-midnight
Saturday: Seattle Neutrino Society Party, 6pm-midnight

Please email us for an invite: mcleodresidence@gmail.com.  We would love for you to join us.

Ignite at CHAC this Wednesday

I forgot to mention this in last week's member email, but wanted to let everyone know about a pretty great event that lifetime McLeod member Brady Forrest has been putting on.

Ignite is a new kind of tech night, and the forth one is happening this Wednesday at the CHAC (Capitol Hill Arts Center on 12th and Pine). It's going to be awesome.  Half-baked Dotcom, a startup improv game hosted by Dave McClure, starts at 6:30 and will end around 8:00. The Ignite talks start at 8:30... they're 5-minutes long, and have an automated slide mover that gives each slide 30 seconds and forces speakers to move along at a good, improve-like, clip.  Here's the full schedule of speakers.  Glancing over the 5-minute talks, I'm excited about the first talk, "Make Art Not Content", former co-worker HB Seigel's "Werewolf Strategy" and the last one, "LIFE: if you’re bored, you’re doing it wrong".

I'll be there for sure.  Hope you can make it.